The Nightmare Before Christmas
by An Empty Room Can Be So Loud
Summary: The Easthigh gang go shopping for Christmas pressies, but what seems like a shopping trip turns into a nightmare before Christmas. Troypay//Ryella//Chaylor. COMPLETE!.
1. Chapter 1

Sharpay was curled up on her couch, reading a magazine when she heard the door bell ring. "Coming!" she called and stood up to answer it.

She smiled when she saw her boyfriend of four years, Troy Bolton at her doorstep. "Hey baby. What's up?"

"The rest of the gang are in my car. We're headed to the mall to buy Christmas presents. Wanna come? Ask your brother, too," Troy said. By 'the gang', he meant Gabriella, who was Ryan's – her twin brother – girlfriend, Chad and Monique, who were also together and Kelsi.

"Sure," she smiled. "_Ryan! Troy and the gang are here! We're going to the mall! Wanna come?_" she called up the stairs.

"_Is Gabriella there?"_ he called back.

"_Yes,_ _now will you just come on?!" _Sharpay shouted, frustrated.

"_Coming!_" Ryan said as he walked down the stairs.

They all got into the car and Troy drove off.

- XXX -

"Ooooh look at that necklace! Doesn't it look beautiful?" Sharpay cried and pointed to a silver locket displayed in a jewelry store with a heart in the middle that could open and you could put a picture inside. The heart had diamonds around it.

"That's a locket," said Chad. "Duh."

"Oh, whatever, Chad! I think it looks great, Sharpay," said Gabriella, Sharpay's best friend.

"Thanks, Gabs. I wish I could buy it, but I need the money to buy presents for you guys!" sighed Sharpay.

The gang moved on to the next shop but did not see Troy going into the jewelry store and buying the locket displayed outside the store.

-XXX-

They headed into a sports store. Taylor saw Chad eyeing a pair of sports shoes. She walked up to him. "See anything you like?"

Chad looked at Taylor. "Yes," he said and kissed her. Taylor giggled.

"I meant the shoes," she said.

"Well, they're cool. They would definitely help me to jump higher and shoot more hoops," he said. "But it's okay. I have enough shoes already."

Taylor laughed. "Are you sure? Because the last time I checked you had only two pairs of shoes and one of them has a hole in it."

Chad laughed too. He put his hand around Taylor's waist and kissed her head. Taylor saw him glance at the shoes again.

"Wait here," she said and walked over to the shoes and picked the one Chad was looking at. She took them to the cashier and paid for them. Then she walked back to Chad.

"Aww you didn't have to," said Chad. "Now I feel guilty for not buying you a present yet."

Taylor raised her eyebrows. "Who said they were for you?" she asked and laughed.

Chad put on a pretend hurt face. "Th- Th- They're not??"

Taylor laughed again and kissed him. "Of course they are, silly."

-XXX-

Kelsi sighed. She was the only single one there. She looked around her and saw Troy and Sharpay holding hands, Ryan and Gabriella giggling together and Taylor and Chad kissing. She missed Jason, but he had gone back to New York. The memory of him brought tears to her eyes. Gabriella saw her and approached her.

She put an arm around Kelsi. "Hey, Kel.. are you okay?"

Kelsi nodded and wiped her tears. "It's just that.." Kelsi started.

All of a sudden, the lights in the mall went off.

Screaming people bumped into all of them.

-XXX-

"Please, people, settle down," ordered a security guard. "There's just a small problem with the lights. I have sent my partner to take a look."

Gabriella heard everyone around her sigh with relief, including her. A figure approached the security guard and tapped him on the shoulder. They chatted for a while. Gabriella guessed that was his partner.

She heard a few words of the conversation like, "Body.. floor.. blood.. shot.. no problem with lights..". Then she saw the face of the security guard turn white.

She nudged her friends. "Guys," she whispered. "Look at the security guard. He's gone all pale."

"How can you see anything? It's all dark!" Taylor said.

"Yeah, but his torchlight's right under him, so you can see that he looks really pale, and anyway, I heard his partner say something to him," said Gabriella.

"Whatever it was, it was probably light stuff or that someone was on his way to repair the lights," Sharpay said.

"No!" Gabriella told them what she had heard.

"This might be serious, there might be a murderer in here," said Ryan.


	2. Chapter 2

"You can't be serious, right, Ryan? A _murderer_?!" Troy said. "Maybe you've watched too many horror movies."

"No.. if what Gabriella said is true, then there is a chance that a murderer did this," said Taylor.

Sharpay looked worried. "I'm scared, Troy.. what if the.. murderer.. kills one of us?"

"Don't worry, Shar. There're too many people in this mall, and there's a small chance that we'll get shot," said her brother.

"Yeah.. Ryan's right," said Chad.

"Okay, will everyone please make their way to the exits," ordered a security guard.

"Oh my gosh. Guys, look," Kelsi said, pointing to a dead body in the middle of the mall. Many people were surounding it.

"Murder," Ryan said. They all looked at him worriedly.

-XXX-

"It's locked!" a woman exclaimed.

"Here, let me try," a man said and tried to open the exit to the mall, but it was locked and it would not budge.

"Can't you do something?" the woman asked a security guard.

"Sorry ma'am, but these are automatic doors, so we have no keys to open them or anything," said the guard.

"Well, how the hell can automatic doors be _locked_?!" someone said.

"I don't know!" said the security guard, frustrated.

"How do you explain the _dead _body?!" cried a woman.

"Oh my gosh! Read the news!" someone said, waving a newspaper. Everyone crowded around him.

"'Murderer escapes from jail'! 'Police report that a murderer – Henry Davis, who has killed many – had escaped from jail at eight A.M. that morning. Henry was put in a mental hospital before being jailed'. Oh my gosh this guy is a maniac!" said Sharpay. "Guys? I can't see you. We should stick together!"

"Sharpay's right!" said a voice that sounded like Troy. "Sharpay, wave your cell phone, we'll come to you."

Sharpay did as Troy said and waved her cell. Soon, all of them had gathered around Sharpay.

"Let's hold hands," said Taylor as she took Gabriella's hand and took Chad's hand with her other hand. Chad took Ryan's hand, Ryan held Kelsi's hand, Kelsi held Sharpay's hand and Sharpay held Troy's hand.

_BANG! _

-XXX-

Everyone was running in circles when they heard that gun shot. The Wildcats held on to each other. Chad could feel a pain in his shoulder.

"Owww!" moaned Chad as he let go of Ryan and touched his shoulder. He looked at his hand, but he couldn't see. But there was a thick liquid on his hand. Blood. "It hit me," he said.

Taylor looked worried. "What hit you?"

"That shot! It hit me!"

"Oh my gosh! Does anyone have any thing that can help to stop Chad's bleeding??" said Taylor.

"I have a packet of tissues," said Kelsi pulling out a packet of tissues. Ryan took it from her and pulled out some tissues. He wetted them with water from a bottle of water he took from his sister's bag. Then he pressed them on Chad's shoulder.

"Oooooh!!" groaned Chad. Another _bang! _went off.

"Did that hit anyone?" asked Troy.

"No!" they all said.

"Oh, that's good!" Gabriella sighed with relief. But when she looked around, she saw lots of people groaning in pain.

"Umm I kinda need to go to the toilet," said Sharpay.

"We'll go with you," they all said.

"I'll stay here with Chad," said Ryan. Gabriella stared at him.

"Be careful," she said and followed the rest.

"Come on Chad, we better get you somewhere safe, where you can lie down or something," said Ryan.

"The furniture store," said Chad. He was losing blood fast. Ryan needed more tissues and water but both of those were with Kelsi and Sharpay.

"Right," said Ryan and he and Chad walked to the furniture. Chad set himself down on a bed. Ryan took a towel from the bathroom section and soaked it in an aquarium.

He put it on Chad's bleeding shoulder. "Eew, man. What if there's fish poop in that water?!" said Chad.

-XXX-

"I think we should all go in with Sharpay," said Gabriella.

"Including me?" said Troy.

"Yes. You don't want to see your one true love die, do you?" said Taylor.

"Okay, okay, I'll follow," said Troy and walked into the ladies' with them.

When they got there, someone was waiting for them.

He grabbed Kelsi by the neck. "You look pretty," he said. Then he stuck a knife through her stomach.

"KELSI!!"

-XXX-

Ryan looked around the store. "No one's here."

"So?" Chad said. He was recovering. "I think I'm okay now."

"Oh. Great," Ryan said and walked to him. "Should we go find the others?"

"No way man. I think we should hide. We don't know what could happen out there," said Chad.

They heard a couple of screams.

And, suddenly, the door to the furniture store slammed shut. "I know someone's in there..." said an eerie voice. Could it be Henry?

-XXX-

**A/N: OMG, i am so sorry this wasn't very good :( I'll try to make them better :**


	3. Chapter 3

"Don't say a word..." ordered Ryan in a whisper. They could hear someone coming. Ryan motioned for Chad to go under the bed. Chad nodded.

They both crawled under the bed. "Well I never imagined being under a bed in a furniture store surronded in darkness with a guy while a maniac killer was on the loose before," whispered Chad.

Ryan put a finger to his lips.

"Who's there! I know someone's there!" came the voice. "Come out! You're not safe here!"

Ryan was confused. Was this or was this not the murderer?? "Who's there?" he said, his voice barely above a whisper.

Whoever it was was close to them now. "I'm a security guard!"

"Why did you slam the door shut?" asked Chad. They still did not trust the persone, whoever it was and still stayed under the bed.

"I thought it was the murderer, so I shut the door so he wouldn't be able to escape," replied the security guard.

Chad motioned for them to come out from under the bed. They did.

"Who are you?" asked the security guard.

"Well.. I got shot at the shoulder, so my friend, Ryan, took me to this furniture store so I could lie down for a while," Chad explained.

"Oh," said the security guard. "Well, I hope you boys will stay safe. I have to go now."

Then they heard something smash.

-XXX-

Troy, Sharpay, Taylor and Gabriella were too busy gaping at Kelsi's body to notice the murderer running out and setting off a gun shot.

Sharpay immediately pulled out some toilet paper and wetted them. Then she pressed it on Kelsi's bleeding stomach.

"Please live!!" begged Sharpay. Tears started to form in her eyes. Kelsi was a really great person and she regretted not being her friend sooner.

"Shar, we have to go somewhere safe. It isn't safe here in the girl's toilet and it's kinda making me feel like a pervert," said Troy.

"Troy's right, Shar," said Taylor.

"But what about Kelsi?" Sharpay said, looking up at Troy. But she could not see him in the darkness.

"We will just have to hope she lives," said Troy.

Sharpay nodded and stood up. Troy wrapped his arms around her. "It's going to be alright," he said.

Gabriella opened the door and they all exited the toilet to see severala bodies lying around. Dead.

-XXX-

"Is your partner here or something? Maybe he accidentally knocked something down. It is hard to see in the dark," said Ryan, hoping the answer was yes.

"I'm afraid I did not bring any partner with me," said the security guard, turning pale.

"_Damn it!_" cried an angry voice. "_There's someone there! I know it!_" the voice cried again.

"Hide!" hissed Chad.

The person who the voice belonged to laughed. "You can't hide from me. I already found you," it said, setting off a series of gun shots.

Ryan pulled Chad's shirt. "C-Chad.. T-Tell Gabriella that I.. I love her," he said before letting go and falling to the floor. Chad fell to the floor too, even though he was not shot, but he did that so the murderer would think that he had shot him, too.

-XXX-

_I wonder how Ryan's doing... I hope he's not dead, _thought Gabriella. The second thought almost brought tears to her eyes, but she held them back. After all, she did not know if Ryan was dead or not.

Gabriella looked at all the dead bodies surrounding her. How disgusting. Why did that madman want to become a murderer? Did he enjoy the sight of blood? Gabriella thought only vampires enjoyed the sight of blood.

"Guys, where should we hide?" asked Gabriella.

"Umm I dunno but I think maybe the safest place would be the movie theather?" suggested Taylor.

"Excellent idea, Tay!" exclaimed Sharpay as she made her way to the movie theather, careful not to step on any bodies.

They were all surprised to see many people in the theather. Obviously they were not aware they were all going to die, or get hurt, since it is always dark in a movie theather.

"It's not safe to be here," said Taylor. "The murderer might think of this as a good spot to kill as there are many people. He might kill us too. We better get out – fast."

"Agreed," said Troy. They hurried along the aisle. He accidentally bumped into someone. "Oh, sorry!" he apologized, thinking it was someone who wanted to go out for a toilet break or something. That 'someone' stabbed Troy at the shoulder.

-XXX-


	4. Chapter 4

"Ahh!" shreiked Sharpay. "Troy! No!"

The maniac laughed. "Was that your boyfriend?? Ohhh I'm sooo sorry!" he said, not really meaning his apology.

"You bastard!" Sharpay screamed and kicked her high heels at him. Even though she could not see him, she knew she had hit him when he screamed.

"Argh! You hit me.. at the neck!" the murderer screamed. Gabriella could feel the eyes of many movie-goers staring at them.

Gabriella immediately dialed the police. She told them the details and hung up. She hoped they would be here – fast.

-XXX-

Chad didn't realize he was closing his eyes until he felt someone nudge him. His eyes flew open to see a police officer. He looked at his friend, Ryan beside him. He was not there.

"Where's Ryan?" he asked. The officer smiled at him.

"You mean that blonde haired boy?" he asked. Chad nodded.

"We've sent him to the hospital. He had blood pouring out from everywhere. It was a good thing a girl named Gabriella Montez called us," said the officer. Then his smiled turned into a frown. "D'you know where she is?"

"You mean, you haven't rescued them yet?" Chad asked worriedly. He was afraid of losing his best friend and his girlfriend. Oh, and Gabriella and Sharpay, too, even though he was not very good friends with either of them. But still, they were his friends.

The officer shook his head. "I'm afraid not. I've sent my team to find them."

"I'll help!" Chad offered.

The officer shook his head. "I can't risk another person dying," he said.

"But you don't understand! One of them, in Gabriella's group, is my girlfriend! She means a lot to me. I'd die for her ... unless she's died already..." Chad said.

The officer shook his head and laughed. "The things people do for love. Well, if you feel so much about her, go ahead."

Chad smiled. "You're the best, Officer..."

"McKennedy," the officer smiled and pushed Chad.

"Officer McKennedy," Chad repeated and rushed off to save his girlfriend.

-XXX-

Chad stopped at a boutique to think. _Where would my friends hide? _he wondered. There were lots of places in the mall. But he guessed that his friends would most probably still be on that floor. There would not have been time to run to a different floor.

He looked around. The movie theather? It was a long shot, but he went there anyway. It's a place where _he _would have thought to hide, anyway.

He looked at the row of theathers. There were five. Which one??

He dashed into the nearest one, which was theather number two. He gasped when he saw his best friend lying on the floor with blood at his shoulder. It made him grip his own shoulder. The blood had dried already.

The murderer.. the maniac.. was on the floor groaning in pain. He had a long scar at his neck. Sharpay.. or one of the girls probably kicked him.

He rushed over to Taylor and hugged her tight, grateful that she was safe and not hurt or injured or.. dead. Taylor hugged him back with tears in her eyes. Happy tears. Relieved tears. I'm-so-glad-my-boyfriend-survived tears.

Gabriella looked at them. "Ryan?" She was so sad when she saw only Chad run through those doors. Without Ryan.

Chad let go of Taylor. "Umm.. he.. is in the hospital. He says he loves you," Chad said. Taylor hugged Gabriella. Gabriella started to cry.

The people in the movie theather looked at them. It was better than the movie they were watching, which was interrupted.

The murderer started to stand, holding his neck. An old lady sitting at the aisle he was standing at whacked him in the stomach with her handbag. It actually made Chad laughed. After all that had happened today, he was glad to be able to be glad.

Chad kissed Taylor. "I've got to tell the police," he said and rushed out, trying to find Officer McKennedy or anyone in his team. He saw a police man examining the dead bodies. Chad called him over.

"My friends – and the murderer – are in the movie theather. Number two," he said quickly.

The officer rushed into theather two. The murderer paled when he saw the police. Fear was in his eyes.

The officer grabbed him and cuffed him. He marched the maniac out of the movie theather. He smiled at Chad.

-XXX-

**Two Weeks Later**

Gabriella was laughing and crying at the same time. Her boyfriend, Ryan Evans, was alive! Alive and well! She kissed Ryan. She kept on kissing him. She never pulled back.

Ryan was happy, too. No, not happy. Ectastic! His girlfriend, Gabriella Montez, was alive! She did not get killed! He returned her kisses with full passion.

-The End-


End file.
